Harry Meghan Sussexes South Africa Veronica Beard Mayamiko,
Start Slideshow

And we are off! Harry and Meghan kick off this week’s Royal Tour of South Africa (for both of them) and then Angola, Malawi, and Botswana (for Harry) in Cape Town, where they visited The Justice Desk Initiative in Nyanga township, then the District Six Museum, and its Homecoming Centre. The museum’s website is very interesting and educational (at least for me; I don’t think Americans really learn that much about Apartheid, other than the broadest strokes; or, at least, we didn’t really when I was in school. I was in high school while it was in the process of ending.)

District Six, before its destruction under Apartheid, was a community representative of diversity on a number of levels – language, religion, economic class, geographical area of origin – and became a living example of how diversity could a be a strengthening characteristic of a community and need not be feared. It was a vibrant community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, with close links to the city and the port.  It represented the polar opposite of what the Apartheid government, inaugurated by the National Party coming into power in 1948, needed people to believe and internalise…

On 11 February 1966, it was declared a white area under the Group Areas Act of 1950, and by 1982, the life of the community was over. More than 60,000 people were forcibly removed to barren outlying areas aptly known as the Cape Flats, and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers.

Kate Nicholl at Vanity Fair has a good report on today’s activities, which were very interesting. As ever, I feel like I learn things from these tours that I didn’t even know I didn’t know.

TONAL SHIFT!

In terms of clothing: For the first few events of the day, Meghan wore a wrap dress by a brand called Mayamiko, which is an ethical, fair trade label from Malawi. Per their website: “Our collections are cross-seasonal and are inspired by African artisanal traditions and prints, with ethical trading and sustainability at our core. Our collections are designed for the global modern woman,  while giving ode to their birthplace through the use of traditional African techniques and local printed fabrics, locally referred to as Chitenje.”  It seems like a very cool brand; they also work to help provide women and girls with needed feminine hygiene products so that they don’t have to miss work or school because they have their period. Also: They sell a LOT of cute stuff on their website, where I just lost about forty-five minutes. All in all, a very savvy (and cute) pick.

And then, we had a clothing change into her Veronica Beard shirtdress, which you probably remember from their previous tour. (It’s sold out in the blue pretty much everywhere, but Nordstrom Rack DOES still have it in red, in limited sizes, as I type this. Hie thee hither!) It’s one of my favorite of her day-dresses, and I am pleased to see its return! Both of these were worn with her old fave Castañer sandals – the We Love Wedges Royal WhatsApp must be fired up today. (Net-a-Porter has MANY new colors in those, including a Missoni-y stripe that I covet.)

As usual with a royal tour, we have a lot of good video:

This is really great:

[Photos: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, Tim Rooke/Shutterstock. We use affiliate links.]

 

Tags: Mayamiko, Royal Tour, Royal Tour (Harry and Meghan South Africa), royalty, Veronica Beard, Harry and Meghan
127
It’s An Awards Show; People Are Going to Wear Metallics
It’s An Awards Show; People Are Going to Wear Metallics
There Was a Lot of Blue and/or Green at the 2019 Emmys
There Was a Lot of Blue and/or Green at the 2019 Emmys